Recorded in Villa Mella, San Pedro De Macoris, Santigo De Los Caballeros & La Yaguita, Dominican Republic; Port-Au-Prince, Haiti; Wakefield, Trelawney Parish, Maryland, St. Andrews Parish, & Chatham, St. James Parish, Jamaica. Includes liner notes by John Storm Roberts.Digitally remastered by Robert C. Ludwig.This is part of the Nonesuch Explorer Series.Personnel: Valerie Walker (vocals); Theophilus Chiverton (fife, drums, triangle); Espiritu Santo Albertino Graciano (drums, maracas).Audio Remasterer: Robert C. Ludwig.Liner Note Authors: John Storm Roberts; Ed .Recording information: Chatham, St. James Parish, Jamaica (1972); La Yaguita, Santiago, Dominican Republic (1972); Maryland, St. Andrews, Jamaica (1972); Port-au-Prince, Haiti (1972); San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic (1972); Santiago de Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic (1972); Vila Mella, Dominican Republic (1972); Wakefield, Trelawney Parish, Jamaica (1972).Photographer: John Storm Roberts.Unknown Contributor Role: Espiritu Santo Albertino Graciano.Beyond the global popularity of calypso, reggae, and the many son-derived musical forms that have emanated from Cuba, the Caribbean is home to a rich array of traditional music. Taking in a disparate array of root influences from West Africa, the Congo, Guinea, England, Spain, and France, the pan-Caribbean musical landscape includes work songs, lullabies, dance numbers, and ritual pieces. This excellent overview taped by the Latin music expert John Storm Roberts in 1971 covers some of the story, with field recordings from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica. The selections range from both predominantly African-derived and Afro-Spanish pieces by way of the Dominican Republic to Jamaican songs inspired to some extent by English ballads. Elements of Jamaican mento, Haitian merengue, and the Dominican sister genre, meringue, abound on the 18 cuts here, with plenty of percussion and call-and-response vocals to go around. This excellent collection should do the trick for Latin music fans looking to find the roots of the music going back to the 19th and early 20th centuries. ~ Stephen Cook